The US to speak with Russia over the secure release of Americans detained by Moscow
New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on Wednesday, said he will speak with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a phone call in the coming days and pressed him to respond to an offer Washington has made to secure the release of American citizens detained by Moscow.
According to the US, the Moscow government has detained a Basketball star and former US Marine.
The statement marked the first time the US government has publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure the release of Griner, who was arrested on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February and testified Wednesday at her trial.
Speaking at a news conference at the State Department, Blinken said, “in the coming days, I expect to speak with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov for the first time since the war (in Ukraine) began and address the release of Brittney Griner & Paul Whelan. We gave a substantial proposal weeks ago to facilitate their release.”
Blinken said the United States had communicated a “substantial offer” to Moscow to bring home basketball star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, although he declined to disclose what the deal would entail.
The US media reported, that the Biden administration has proposed returning convicted arms merchant Viktor Bout to Russia in exchange for the release of detained Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” is serving 25 years in a US prison after he was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, providing aid to a terrorist organization, and other charges. President Biden has come around to supporting the exchange for Bout after months of internal debate, overriding opposition by the Justice Department.
Meanwhile, Blinken underscored that the phone call “in the coming days” with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “will not be a negotiation about Ukraine.”
(Vinayak)
